Cloth spreader for looms



De."23, 1941. R, Q TURNER 2,267,483-

CLOTH SPREADER FOR LOOMS Filedl Deo. 9, 1940 NVENTOR FMCHARD TURNERATTORNEY Patented Dec. 23, 1941 UNITED A,swr-re CLOTH SPREADER FOR LOOMSRichard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass., assigner to Crompton & Knowles LoomWorks, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts ApplicationDecember 9, 1940, Serial No.'369,156 l 12 Claims. (Cl. 139-291) Thisinvention `relates to improvements in cloth spreadersv for looms and itVis the general object of the invention to provide a simple means forpreventing wrinkles in the Vcloth as it is wound on the cloth roll.v

As cloth is woven on `a loom it is advanced by the take-up mechanism andthen proceeds to the cloth roll on which it is wound. In the weaving ofcertain'fabrics wrinkles-are likely to be formed in the cloth before itreaches the cloth f roll and as the cloth winds up in Vlayers on thecloth roll the wrinkles form creases or marks in the cloth which aredifficult to remove.

It is an important object of my present Vinvention to provide a bar solocated as to require the cloth to have a slight contact with the clothroll before being wound tightly on the roll. The

effect of this slight contact is to assist the Cloth roll itself instraightening out the wrinkles as a preparatory step to the ultimatewinding-up of the cloth. I

It is a further object of my present invention to mount the bar onflexiblefsupports which can be wrapped partly around the cloth roll andare of such length as require the bar to maintain a' Another feature ofmy invention resides in the fact that the bar is acted upon by thetension of the cloth to move in the direction toward the axis ofthecloth roll, thereby creating a condition of stability for the positionof the bar even though the loom is not running and making unnecessaryany adjustment of the bar to a position where it will remove wrinklesupon the resumption of weaving. This last named condition grows out ofthe fact that the bari is located between the two points of contactmentioned and that the tension in the cloth, being "substantially thesame on both sides of the bar, tends to mov the latter toward the clothroll axis. I

With these and other'objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in thecombination andarrangei ment of parts hereinafter described and set forth. I Y i In theaccompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention isset forth: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a loom having myinventionapplied thereto,

4bar 25 as at 29.

`bar designated generally at 35.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale,

Fig.- 3 is a detailed front elevation of my invention looking in thedirection of arrow 3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a detailed plan View of one end of the top bar looking in thedirection of arrow 5, Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the relationship between thespreader bar and the cloth roll, indicating the operation of myinvention as the cloth roll increases in diameter.V

Referring to the drawings, the loom frame I0 includes a breast beam IIover 4which the `fabric or cloth F passes to the left from the point ofweaving not shown as viewed in Fig, 2. The frame has a pair of uprightbrackets I2, one at eachside of the loom, in which are journaled anupper guide roll I3, a take-up roll I4 and a pressure roll I5. Below thelatter is a second guide `roll I6 under which is located the cloth rollI'I.

The take-up roll is driven positively in wellknown mannerrby mechanismnot set forth herein and turns in the direction of arrow a, Fig. 2 andlikewise the cloth roll I1 is caused to rotate in the direction of arrowb, Fig. 2, by mechanism not shown during loom operation. The fabricafter passing over Vthe breast beam passes under guide roll I3, aroundthegreater part of the takeup rollV I4, over the pressure roll I5 andinfront `of the guide roll I6 and then passes downwardly toward the rearof the cloth roll I1.

The matter thus far described is of the usual construction and of itselfforms no part of my present invention. As the loom continues to run thecloth accumulates on the roll I'I to increase its diameter.

The cloth spreader which is the subject of my present inventioncomprises an upper bar 25 each end of which is provided with a hook 26to t over the ends of the guide roll I6 as suggested in Fig. 1. Theforward face of the bar 25 `is provided'with a vertical groove 21 whichreceives thefront vertically extending end 28 of the hook after the samehas passed through the The groove 2'I'prevents the hook from pivotingwith respect to the bar 25 and holds it in proper vertical position forengagement with the roll I5.

VDepending from each end of the bar 25 is a spreader bar support 30formed of flexible preferably transparent smooth sheet material. Thesupport 30 is preferably formed of plastic material which is flexibleenough to be curved around a part of the cloth roll. The supports 30 aresecured to the bar 25 as at 3| and their lower ends are fastened to acloth engaging spreader The spreader bar ispreferably made of twosemi-cylindrical front and back sections 36 and 31, respectively, whichare secured together as by screws or the like 33 which as shown hereinpass from the front of the bar rearwardly entirely through the section36 and into the rear section 31. Certain of the screws 38 pass throughthe lower edges of the flexible support as shown in Fig. 4 and are themeans by which the lower bar 35 is secured to the supports 30. Y

The relationship of my invention with respec-t to the guide roll I 6 andthe cloth roll I1 is indicated in Fig. 6, where it will be seen that thehooks 26 extend over the guide roll VI6 to hold the spreader in positionon the loom. The small circle S in Fig. 6 indicates the perimeter of thecloth roll at the beginning of the cloth windingup operation, while thelarger circle L represents the perimeter of the roll after a number oflayers of cloth have been wound on it. From an inspection of Fig, 6 itwill be seen that as the cloth F approaches the cloth roll it has apoint of straightening or smoothing contact with the rear part of thecloth roll as indicated at 49 and then leaves the cloth roll to engagethe rear part of the bar 35 as at AI. After extending around and underthe spreader bar the cloth extends forwardly to have a second or windingcontact with the cloth roll as at 42. The flexible supports 3i! aresufficiently long to allow the bar 35 to lie far enough below the axisof the cloth roll to establish the two-points of contact 40 and 42.

During operation of the loom Ythe cloth roll turns in the direction ofarrow b, Fig. 2, and

that part of the cloth extending from points.

1I-42 moves forwardly. The spreader bar 35 is therefore acted upon byfrictional forces tending to move it forwardly. As the cloth rolldiameter increases provision must be made to move the spreader bar outof the path of the accumulating cloth layers. In order to accomplishthis result the spreader bar 35 is given a progressive rearward motionby having the exible supports 30 contact with the cloth roll. As thecloth roll increases the supports are moved rearwardly to cause backwardmotion of the spreader bar to positions where it will not be subjectedto a downwardV force sufficient to break the supports 30 or damage thecloth. As the cloth roll increases its perimeter from that indicated atS to that shown at L in Fig. 6, the cloth will have changing points ofinitial contact with the rear of the cloth roll Aas at 50 Fig. 6, fromwhich it passes to the spreader bar 35 from and then to the cloth rollto have a second point of contact indicated at 5 I. When the cloth rol-1is of small diameter the supports 30 will be curved downwardly andforwardly from the `.full to the dotted line position shown at thebottom of Fig. 4. As the cloth roll increases in diameter this curvatureis reduced, but the bar 35 will still be located in position to causethe aforesaid two points of contact of the cloth with the cloth roll.rIhe pressure of the cloth acts on the bar 35 in a direction to force ittoward the axis of the cloth roll I1, and since lthe pressures exertedon the bar 35 by those parts of the cloth on both sides of it aresubstantially the same, the bar tends to retain any given position withrespect to the cloth roll Vwhen the loom is at rest and there is no needfor adjusting'the position of theV spreader bar 'when weaving isresumed.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the cloth extends behind the flexible supports30, and the latter ,project beyond the cloth selvage .55. That -part ofthe cloth leading down from roll I6 and located between the supports 36has direct contact with the cloth roll at points 46 and 50, while theedges of the cloth slide along the relatively narrow supports 36.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple meansfor supporting the cloth spreader in such position as to require thecloth to have two points of contact with the vcloth roll, the first orstraightening contact of which as indicated at 40 or 50 is a lightcontact the effect of which is to cause the cloth roll itself to exert astraightening effect on the cloth without converting the wrinkles intocreases and the cloth so straightened then passes to the spreader bar35=where it is subjected to further straightening, after which the clothis directed to the cloth roll to be wound thereon at the winding pointof contact 42 or 5I. In this way the cloth roll assists the spreader bar35 in straightening the cloth before it finally reaches its second orwinding point of contact with the cloth'roll. It will also be seen thatthe supports 35 are flexible and for this reason permit the location ofthe bar 35 in such position as will maintain the effective spreading ofthe cloth as the diameter of the roll I1 increases. Again, it will beseen that the two points of contact place the spreader bar at the vertexof an angle the bisector of which passes through the axis of the clothroll and that the substantially equal pressures in the cloth on bothsides of the spreader bar 35 tend to direct the latter toward the axialcenter of the cloth roll to stabilize the spreader bar. Furthermore, thefiexible supports are so located as to require the cloth selvages totravel `along it, thereby tending to straighten out any wrinkles whichmay tend lto develop `because of the difference in Ythickness of the`cloth and its selvage. Also, the increasing diameter of the cloth rollsacts on the supports 30 to give the spreader bar 35 .a progressivemotion rearwardly so it will not interfere with the accumulating layersof cloth. `Having thus described my invention it will be seen thatchanges -and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in theart without kdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and Ido not wish to be limited to the kdetails herein disclosed, `but what Iclaim is:

l. In a loom `having take-up mechanism from which the fabric leads toand around a cloth wind-up roll, a spreader bar located between thefabric and the cloth roll in position to cause the fabric to have twolines of contact with Vthe cloth roll, the first line being between thetake-up roll -and the spreader `bar on one side of the latter in Vsuchposition as to'cause the fabric to have a comparatively slightstraightening contact with the cloth roll as the fabric leads from thetake-up roll to the spreader bar, and cause the fabric vex- Vtendingfrom thespreader vbar to the cloth roll to have a Awinding-up contactwithsaid cloth roll.

3. In a loom .having -atakeup roll from which the fabricmoves to andaround a cloth roll, a spreader bar for the fabric, and means to supportthe spreader bar between the fabric and roll in such position as tocause the fabric to have contact with the cloth roll along two spacedlines one of which is on one side of the spreader bar between the latterand the take-up roll and the other of which is on the opposite s-ide ofthe spreader bar, the cloth roll tending to straighten the cloth alongthe rst line of contact and winding the fabric thereon along the secondline of contact.

4. In aloom having a cloth roll toward which the fabric moves in a givenplane, a spreader bar between the cloth and cloth roll and located onthe same side of said plane as the axis of the cloth roll, and means tomountthe spreader bar in position to cause the fabric to have contactwith the cloth along two'spaced lines the first of which tends tostraighten the cloth and is located on one side of the spreader baralong the line of tangency between the cloth roll and said plane and theother line being located on the other side of said spreader bar wherethe fabric has wind-- ing-up contact with the cloth roll.

5. In a loom having a cloth roll toward which the fabric moves to bewound thereon, a spreader bar to be moved relatively to the cloth rollin a direction opposite to that in which the cloth roll tends to movesaid spreader bar, thereby maintaining substantially the samerelationship between the spreader bar andthe points of contact betweenthe cloth and the cloth roll as the diameter of the cloth rollincreases.

9. In a loom having a frame and wherein the cloth moves downwardly andrearwardly to have vcontact with the rear part of a cloth roll and bewound on the latter and move forwardly below the cloth roll during loomoperation, a spreader bar located between the fabric and the clothroll,v i

and means to support the spreader bar and locate the latter in positionto cause the fabric extending on opposite sides thereof to be tangentialto the cloth roll along two spaced lines on opposite sides of thespreader bar.

6. In a loom having a cloth roll toward which the fabric moves to bewound thereon, a spreader bar located between the fabric and the clothroll, and means to locate the spreader bar in position to cause thefabric extendingvon opposite sides thereof to be tangential to the clothroll along two spaced lines on opposite sides of the spreader bar, thoseparts of the fabric leading from the spreader bar to said pointsexerting forces on the spreader bar tending to move the latter towardthe axis of the cloth roll.

'7. In a loom having a cloth roll the diameter of which increases ascloth is wound thereon during loom operation, a spreader bar contactingthe cloth and cloth roll and tending by reason of the frictional contactthereof with the cloth and cloth roll to move in the direction in whichthe cloth axis of the roll as the diameter of the latter increases andmove said spreader bar in a direction opposite to that in which thecloth moves.

8. In a loom having a cloth roll the diameter of which increases ascloth is wound thereon during loom operation, a spreader bar contactingthe cloth and cloth roll and tending by reason of the frictional contactthereof with the cloth and cloth roll to move in the -direction in whichthe adjacent contacting part of the cloth roll moves, supporting meansfor the spreader bar, and flexible means attached to said supportingmeans and the spreader bar and having a portion thereof in contact withthe roll and of such length as to locate the spreader bar so that thecloth passing around said spreader bar will Contact the roll along lineson opposite sides of the spreader bar, the increasing diameter of thecloth roll moving the last named means in a direction away from the axisof the cloth roll and causing the spreader v bar located below the axisof the cloth roll at the start of the accumulation of cloth on the rolland having frictional contact with the cloth and the cloth roll whichtends to move the spreader bar forwardly, and flexible supporting meansfor the spreader bar secured to the latter and mounted on the frame,saidsupport means contasting and extending along the curved rear part of theroll and being moved rearwardly as the diameter of the roll increases tocause a progressive rearward motion of the spreader bar during loomoperation. e

10. In a loom having a cloth guide roll in front of which the clothpasses toward the rear part of a cloth roll located beneath the guideroll, a

spreader bar located between the cloth and the cloth roll and tending byfrictional contact thereof with the cloth and the cloth roll to moveforwardly, said spreader bar being located below the axis of the clothroll at the start of the accumulation of cloth on the roll and in thepath of the successively accumulating layers of cloth as the diameter ofthe cloth roll increases during operation, and iiexible support meanssupported by the guide roll and extending around and in contact with therear curved part of the cloth roll to be moved rearwardly as thediameter of the cloth .roll increases to cause rearward motion of thespreader bar in a direction away from the path of the accumulatinglayers of cloth and in a direction opposite to that in which the clothtravels.

11. In a loom having a frame and a guide roll from which the cloth movestoward the rear part of a cloth roll located beneath the guide roll, aspreader bar below the axis of the cloth roll at the start of theaccumulation of cloth on the roll in a direction opposite to that inwhich the cloth travels and in a direction having a component extendingaway from the axis of the cloth roll.

12. In a cloth spreader for a loom having `a cloth roll and a clothspreader supporting member; said spreader including an upper horizontalbar, means to attach the horizontal bar to the supporting member,fiexible sheet support means depending from said horizontal bar andnormally flat and` lying in a plane parallel to the horizontal y bar,and a cloth spreader bar to engage the cloth roll and secured to thebottom of the flexible support means and substantially parallel to thenormal plane of said sheet support means.

RICHARD G. TURNER. 4

